Stealing Jake

CHAPTER Sixteen



Jake patted Miss Nellie on the shoulder and surveyed the damage to the boardinghouse’s café. “Don’t worry, Miss Nellie. Harvey will have everything set to right in no time.”

“But why would someone break in to my café?” She dabbed her eyes with a lacy handkerchief. “We don’t have anything of value.”

“They’re looking for money, food, or anything they can sell for cash.”

Miss Nellie gazed at him with red-rimmed eyes. “If they’re hungry, all they’ve got to do is ask. There wasn’t any need to tear things apart.”

Jake nodded. Miss Nellie would never turn a hungry child away. And neither would the orphanage. Which was why he couldn’t understand why these children wouldn’t go there. Livy insisted they were afraid. Afraid of what? Livy? Mrs. Brooks? Nothing to fear there. Unless he counted the way Livy made his heart pound. And the longer she held him at arm’s length, the worse the feeling got.

“Jake? Are you all right?”

Jake blinked and saw Miss Nellie staring at him, confusion lining her eyes.

“I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Look at this mess.” Miss Nellie wiped her eyes again, then stuffed her hankie into an apron pocket.

Tables and chairs lay topsy-turvy, scattered across the floor as if an angry bull had rampaged through. Miss Nellie’s prized checkerboard tablecloths dotted the carnage. She trudged across the room, reached down and picked up a tablecloth, shook it out, and started folding it into a small neat square, sniffling as she went.

Jake set the tables and chairs to rights in no time and stepped into the kitchen. He spotted Harvey trying to tilt a corner pie safe upright. “Here, let me help you with that.”

The two righted the cabinet and pushed the furniture into the corner where it had sat as long as Jake could remember. Many a night since he’d started boarding with the Bakers’, he’d raided that pie safe for a piece of Miss Nellie’s chocolate cake or apple pie.

Too bad he hadn’t been around last night. Maybe he would have heard the commotion. Nobody else had. Harvey couldn’t hear spit, and Miss Nellie slept like the dead.

Harvey grabbed a bucket and tossed a pie in. Jake hunkered down and salvaged two loaves of bread wrapped in cheesecloth. “Harvey, do you know what’s missing?”

“Huh?”

Jake raised his voice. “Anything missing?”

“The money from the cash box.”

“The one Miss Nellie kept in the pie safe?”

“Yeah. Been telling her for years not to leave it there. But she wouldn’t listen. Said if somebody needed it more than she did, they were welcome to it.”

“Well, I guess somebody took her at her word.” Jake sat back on his heels, elbows resting on his knees, and surveyed the damage. Harvey dumped another ruined pie in the bucket.

Miss Nellie stepped into the kitchen, still dabbing at her eyes.

Jake stood, tossed an arm around her shoulders, and gave her a hug. “Everything will be fine, Miss Nellie. We’ll find out who did this.”

“I’m sure they had a good reason.” She patted his shirtfront with a gnarled hand. “Now, don’t you be too rough on them youngsters when you find ’em. They’re just children, after all. If we could get ’em in church, that’d do them a sight more good than jail.”

Jake sighed as he looked into her kind face, lined with age and wisdom. He was probably looking at Livy O’Brien sixty years from now. Almost too tenderhearted for her own good.

She glanced around her kitchen, looking a bit confused. “I’m sorry you missed breakfast, Jake, but when I came down and saw this mess, I got so upset, I didn’t know what to do.”

“Tell you what. When Harvey and I get everything straightened up, we’ll let you treat us to some fried ham, biscuits, and gravy.” He raised his voice. “How’s that sound, Harvey?”

Harvey swiped at some gooey apple pie filling on the floor. “Best news I’ve had all day.”



* * *





Livy finished sweeping the spiderwebs from the upstairs bedrooms, then cleaned the washroom. The harsh Illinois winters kept the inhabitants of the orphanage confined close to the warmth of the kitchen, but they’d had a few days of sunshine to chase a bit of the cold away. The children would start sleeping upstairs as soon as the weather allowed.

A door slammed, followed by the boys’ raucous laughter. . . . Seth and Georgie must have come in from the cold. Moments later, they raced upstairs, grinning from ear to ear. “Tommy’s here.”

Livy’s heart rate spiked. Jake as well? Tommy’s dark hair and freckled face popped up on the stairwell a few steps below Seth. She smiled at him. “Hello, Tommy.”

The boy grinned, looking like a kid version of Jake. “Morning, Miss Livy.”

The three boys tore down the stairwell, rattling the walls. Seth hollered over his shoulder, “Mrs. Brooks said to come downstairs. We’ve got visitors.”

Livy hurried into the washroom and smoothed her flyaway curls. Frowning, she eyed the cobwebs sticking to her brown dress. She shouldn’t have worn the brown to clean in, but it was too late now. She swiped at the gossamer threads to no avail. “Oh, drat it.” Cobwebs or no, she didn’t have time to change.

She hurried down the stairs, passed the parlor, and saw Jake’s sisters with Mary and the other girls. Mrs. Brooks and Mrs. Russell were in the kitchen digging through a box of clothes. Livy tamped down a twinge of disappointment when she didn’t see Jake. Mrs. Brooks smiled, her face beaming. “Look, Livy, Mrs. Russell brought some clothes Tommy and the girls have outgrown.”

Livy peeked in the box and pulled out a pair of twill pants. “Oh, these should be perfect for Georgie.”

“And look.” Mrs. Brooks held up a tiny smocked dress. “This should fit Grace. Isn’t it darling?”

A shriek sounded from outside, and Mrs. Russell pressed a hand to her heart. “My word, what was that?”

Livy glanced out the window. “Seth fell out of the tree, but he’s fine. The snow cushioned his fall.” She laughed. “Looks like they’ve discovered a new game. That should keep them busy for a while.”

“If it doesn’t give me a heart attack in the process.”

The shared laughter felt good.

Mrs. Brooks poured coffee, and Livy carried the cups to the table. “Do you take cream? Sugar?”

“Just a little sugar, thank you.”

“How are Susie and the baby?”

“Both are fit as a fiddle. I’m having a hard time keeping Susie from overdoing it, but other than that, they’re doing fine.”

“We’re so glad you stopped by. The children will be thrilled with the clothes.”

“It’s the least I could do.” Jake’s mother sipped her coffee and smiled at Livy. “Actually, I wanted to invite you and Mary over again. The girls have been pestering me all week.” She covered her mouth as her eyes grew wide. Then she laughed, her eyes twinkling. “Oh, my goodness. That sounded like I was only inviting you two because of the girls. The truth is, I’d love to have you visit again. And, Mrs. Brooks, when the weather clears, you’ll have to bring all the children out to the farm. We’ll make a day of it.”

“That’s too much trouble for you, Mrs. Russell.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble. Jake always comes for Sunday dinner, and he’ll be more than happy to bring the girls with him. By the way, have you seen him lately? I’ve been so busy helping Susie with the baby that I’ve missed seeing him when he comes out to the farm.”

Sudden heat filled Livy’s face. The last time she’d seen Jake, he’d kissed her. And to her shame, she’d kissed him back. Then told him she only wanted to be friends. Had he taken her at her word and given up so easily? Did she want him to honor her wishes or see through her fear and listen to her heart?

She mumbled something about having seen him on Tuesday.

Mrs. Russell sighed. “Since his father died, he’s taken on a huge load of responsibility for all of us. I keep telling him we can manage fine without the extra income from his job as deputy, but we suffered a terrible crop this past year. He’s afraid if we have another bad year, we might lose the farm.”

Mrs. Brooks reached out and clasped her hand. “Surely it’s not that bad, is it?”

Tears filled Mrs. Russell’s eyes, and she blinked them away. “We can only pray that it won’t be.”